WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Emmanuel College women's basketball team secured a pair of victories at the Keiser University New Year's Classic, defeating City College of New York 84-71 before topping Cairn University 89-30. With the wins, the Saints improve to 8-4 on the year.

In the first match up against CCNY, Emmanuel struggled offensively in the opening quarter and trailed 19-18 at the end of the period. Midway through the second quarter, a free throw by sophomore guard Ryan Maynard (Bowie, Md.) put EC ahead for good, giving Emmanuel a 26-25 lead at the time. They'd build the lead to three heading into halftime with a 39-16 advantage.

The Saints took control of the action in the third, outscoring CCNY 27-14 in the quarter to take a 16 point lead into the final stanza. It was more than enough as Emmanuel cruised to the 84-71 win.

Graduate student Lena Negri (Arlington, Va.) put together her best game of the season with a monster doubled-double of 25 points and 13 rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Maynard chipped in with a career-high 13 points off the bench. Freshman guard Olivia Dalphonse (Portland, Maine) added a season-best nine points.

Against Cairn, the Saints never trailed en route to the 59 point win for their largest margin of victory this season. 14 players scored in the win including 11 points from Negri and 10 a piece from junior forward Jen Chalk (Horseheads, N.Y.) and sophomore guard Alisha Fox (National Park, N.J.).

Junior forward Alexis Ezell (Acworth, Ga.) added nine points while freshman post players Christine Miller (Manchester, Maine) and Mary McCarty (Scituate, Mass.) chipped in with eight points each.

The Saints return to action on Tuesday, January 5 when they host Norwich University at 7:30 PM to open up Great Northeast Athletic Conference action.